Radicchio and Arugula Salad With Pears and Walnuts

I have always loved salads.  Even before I went plant-based, I would, more often than not, eat a salad for lunch.  Conversely, I have never been a huge sandwich eater.  They are okay, but they are not a salad.  Salads are also a lot easier to order for takeout too, as I found out the other day.

I had taken Tim to the doctor for a follow-up with his ankle (tendon operation- I highly recommend you never have one), and we decided to stop for lunch on the way home.  He felt like a sandwich, so we called my SIL to see if she wanted one too.

While he waited in the car, I ran in to get the sandwiches:

Me: I’d like a sub with mustard and a sandwich on whole wheat with mayo.

Girl behind the counter: Rustic?

Me: What does that mean? (Do we have to eat outside?  Should I go buy flannel shirts and boots? Maybe pitch a tent?)

Girl: Rustic bread

Me: Still not entirely sure what that means. Can I buy a vowel?  No? Okay, just a regular sub (hoagie) roll on the one and whole wheat on the sandwich.

Girl: So rustic.

Me: I feel like we’ve covered this before.  Regular old, white bread sub roll  AND a whole wheat sandwich.

Girl: Okay, give us five minutes.

Five Minutes later, I was handed ONE single sub…that was piping hot, and stuffed into a bag.  Clearly, I was being sent on my way.

Me:  What is this?

Girl: Your rustic sub, but I didn’t know they were going to heat it.  I didn’t tell them to do that.

Me: ( So. Many. Things. Wrong.  Deep breaths.  Channel your inner Bruce Banner.  Must keep the Hulk under control.) I never said rustic. And I’m not taking this sub because it’s not what I ordered.

Girl: You did say rustic.

Me:  Seriously??!!  You need to stop saying rustic.  Let’s go over the order again…(And breathe out 2, 3, 4…)

Two minutes later, I got one sandwich…on white bread.

Girl: Here you go!  I told them to rush.  Thank you for coming.  Have a nice day.

Me: Oh, I think the boat has sailed on nice day.  One of us is about to have a really bad, bad day. First of all, let’s start with the bread.

Girl: You said white.  You said you didn’t want rustic.

Me:  I am ordering TWO sandwiches.  For TWO different people.  ONE is on whole wheat.  The other is on a WHITE SUB ROLL.  How are you not getting this??!!!

Girl: Oh, you want TWO sandwiches? And only one of them is rustic, right?

Salads really are so much easier.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of radicchio (about 3 cups)
• 2-3 cups arugula
• 2 pears (I use Bosch) or more, if you like
• 2/3 cups walnut pieces, again, you can certainly add more
• 4 Tablespoons agave or honey
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 cups water
• 1 lemon, cut into slices
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup monk fruit, agave, honey or sweetener of choice

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 large shallot, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel pairs.  Using a melon baller, scoop out the core from the bottom and discard.
2. In a small pot, combine the wine, water, lemon, cinnamon and sweetener.  Place the pears in (lying on their side is fine; the object here is to submerge the pears as much as possible).  Bring to a boil, then cover, simmer and poach till pears are tender but not mushy, about 20-30 minutes depending on how ripe the pears were to begin with. If they are not completely submerged, turn them over halfway through the cooking process.  Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and line a small baking sheet with foil.  Brush the foil with oil (I use olive, but any oil will do).  Toss the walnuts with the agave (or honey), spread out on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
4. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a jar and shake till well combined.
5. Chop the radicchio and arugula (you can use spinach if you don’t like arugula) and toss with the dressing, reserving a bit of the dressing to sprinkle on top of the finished salad if desired.  Put the lettuce on a serving platter.
6. Cut the pears into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle over the radicchio and arugula.  Sprinkle the walnuts on top, breaking up any large clumps.
7. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!